1. begin to do sth 开始做某事。如：Soon it began to rain. 不久天就开始下雨了。He sat down at the desk and began to write. 他在桌子前坐下就开始写了起来。He sat down at the desk and begaOR: maroon; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">2. began doing sth 开始做某事。如：He began doing this job last year. 他去年开始做这工作。He began teaching English at the age of 18. 他18岁开始教英语。注：以上两类结构有时可互换，而意思不变。如：
Then he began telling [to tell] us a story. 然后他开始给我们讲故事。

两类结构能互换的场合主要限于那些有意志的动词，而对于那些无意志的动词(如那些表示感觉或心理活动的动词以及主语是无生命的东西时()，通常用不定式，很少用动名词。如：The ice began to melt. 冰开始融化。I began to understand this situation. 我开始了解情况。另外若 begin 本身为 -ing 形式，其后通常也接不定式。如：I’m beginning to feel better, thank you. 我渐渐感到好些了，谢谢你。不过，若主语是指天气的 it, 其后可接不定式或动名词。如：It began raining [to rain]. 开始下雨了。3. begin with sth [by doing sth] 以做某事开始。如：Knowledge begins with practice. 知识始于实践。He began by telling us a story. 他先给我讲了个故事。注：有时 begin 后可以有宾语。如：He began his talk with an apology. 他开始讲话时先作了一番道歉。4. to begin withAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">4 首先，在开始。如：We can’t go. To begin with, it’s too cold. Besides, we’ve no money. 我们不去了，首先是太冷了， 另外我们又没有钱。
The factory was quite a small one to begin with. 这家工厂开始是一家很小的厂。